On April 2, my mother received a phone call from my orthopedic specialist. He was calling with the results of a gait analysis I did back in January, where I was camera recorded and motion captured walking back and forth to create a three-dimensional, stick-like figure of how I walk. I almost wish it were a late April Fool's Day prank, but as I mentioned in To Date as a possibility for the future, I need surgery. Dubbed "heel lengthening" by my orthopedic specialist, the surgery involves making small incisions in the lower back of my leg to make cuts in my Achilles tendon in the hope that it will elongate as it heals so I can begin to walk with my right foot flat to the ground and have a much wider, more normal range of motion in it and my ankle. While under, he informed my mother that I may also need arch flattening surgery, which is when the arch of the foot requires restoration by repairing the supportive bones, ligaments, and tendons in the foot, though he advised her that he would determine that and follow through on it if necessary during my heel lengthening. He also mentioned that I'll be cast for a new orthopedic brace like the ones I used to wear when I was younger while asleep and that the surgery is outpatient, meaning I can go home the same day.
For the first six weeks post-surgery, I will be in a walking cast, and for the first week, will undoubtedly be in a lot of pain and require great assistance getting around and doing things from my parents and a pair of crutches or a walker. After the first seven days, I should mostly be able to get around on my own, albeit weighed down by the extra weight of the walking cast. Past the first six weeks, assuming the well recovery of my Achilles tendon, I'll get my cast cut off and likely go into wearing my new orthopedic brace for the foreseeable future—a wonderful additional complicating factor in shoe shopping and source of embarrassment.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. Worried about everything that could go wrong, worried about what complications the symptoms of my diagnosis could cause, and worried about the road ahead after recovery. The reason I didn't do the surgery when I was younger was because I was scared of it, and I know I'll be better off once all this is behind me, but that doesn't make the now any easier.
The surgery is scheduled for July 1, and I'm publishing this as soon as possible so that I can get all the details out in one place. I've started a countdown to the big day on my website, and if all goes to plan, I'll be rolling into the operating room as it finishes. After the surgery, I'll be sure to post a status update on how I am and how everything went on X, and I hope to share the events of the day of and afterward in my recovery in a follow-up blog post.